UK Medical School Interview Formats 2027 Entry

UK Medical School Interview Formats 2027 Entry

For 2027 entry, 7 of the 11 UK medical schools in our table name multiple mini interviews (MMIs) for home applicants. Glasgow runs a 30-minute online panel for everyone, Cambridge runs College interviews, Edinburgh describes a half-day assessment day, and KCL's course page does not state a format.

The bigger difference is not MMI against panel. It is who gets which format inside one school. Sheffield and Queen's University Belfast put home applicants in person and international applicants online. Newcastle gives international applicants a panel instead of an MMI. Manchester lets you choose Zoom or campus. At Cambridge, your College decides. So the first job is to find your own row, then prepare for that format. The UK MMI station bank covers what to practise once you know it.

Every school page quoted below was checked on 7 November 2026. Pages that blocked our fetcher, or that we could not find, are listed in their own section and are not in the table. Your invitation email is the final word on your format.

On this page: the format table · when invitations arrive · how schools shortlist · what the format changes · find your format in three steps · schools not in the table

How to read the table

• Each cell comes from the school's own course, interview or admissions-policy page, fetched on 7 November 2026. The source is linked in the school's name.
• "Home" and "international" mean fee status, which is the wording the schools use.
• Where a page names its entry year, the row is for 2027 entry. KCL's figures are for "the most recent admissions cycle", which the page does not date.
• Blank-looking cells say "not stated". We did not fill gaps from forums or tutoring sites.

Format and mode at 11 UK medical schools

Our count: Imperial, Manchester, Sheffield, Newcastle, Queen's Belfast, Exeter and Lancaster name MMIs (7). Glasgow runs a panel, Cambridge College interviews, Edinburgh an assessment day, and KCL does not say (4).

The wording behind the less obvious rows:

"For home applicants, we use a multiple mini-interview (MMI) format, which applicants attend in person. International applicants will be invited to an online panel interview."

That is Sheffield's 2027 course page. Newcastle's 2027 admissions policy adds that "Both formats of interview ask a comparable set of questions."

"Interviews may be online or in person, depending on which College is assessing your application and the course you have applied for."

That is Cambridge's interviews page, which then lists each College's format for 2027 entry. The Cambridge medicine interview guide pulls out the Colleges that interview medicine in person.

"Panel A: explore motivation to becoming a doctor, teamwork and related topics around this."

"Panel B: focus on communication and will include discussion of an ethical scenario."

That is Glasgow's MBChB interviews page. The same two interviewers cover both parts.

When invitations arrive

Schools send invitations themselves, by email, not on one national date. UCAS says an invitation "could either be sent to you directly, or through your UCAS application" (UCAS interview invitations). If it came through UCAS, you can request a different time there. If it came by email, contact the school.

Two of these change what you do this week. Glasgow can give 7 days' notice, and Manchester fills slots first come, first served. Set a filter so school emails skip your spam folder, and answer the same day.

Oxford is not in either table. Its pages returned HTTP 403 to us on 7 November 2026, so we quote none of its dates. The Oxford medicine interview guide lists what to confirm on Oxford's own pages.

How schools shortlist (UCAT and academics)

None of these pages gives a 2027-entry UCAT score that secures an interview. Sheffield is the only one that sets a 2027 minimum in advance. Imperial publishes last cycle's thresholds.

Our view: if your UCAT is already sat, shortlisting is out of your hands for this cycle. Spend no time on cut-off forums. Spend it on the format in your row. The basis is in the table: every school ranks on scores it already holds, and none takes new evidence before the interview.

The countercase: if you are deciding where to apply next cycle, these rules are the whole decision. A strong SJT counts at Edinburgh and Newcastle but not at Cambridge in 2027 entry. Glasgow reads your personal statement before UCAT.

What the format changes about preparation

The content is shared. Motivation, teamwork, ethics and communication come up whatever the format. What the format changes is pace, audience and setting.

Once you know your format, how MMI stations are marked shows what happens to each station's mark.

MMI (Imperial, Manchester, Sheffield home, Newcastle home, Queen's Belfast, Exeter, Lancaster). Short stations with a fresh assessor each time. Manchester's are "eight minutes long with a two-minute gap between stations", and Newcastle scores each station "by an individual selector". Practise starting cold: read a prompt, take a breath and answer within 10 seconds. Newcastle names role play, so rehearse one role-play station aloud with a friend.

Panel (Glasgow, Sheffield and Newcastle international). The same people hear every answer, so your stories must not repeat. Glasgow's two interviewers cover motivation, teamwork, communication and an ethical scenario you choose from two. Prepare a separate story for teamwork and for motivation. The teamwork, failure and weakness guide shows how to build that bank.

Group task (possibly Manchester). Manchester says it may replace one MMI station with a group task for the 2026/7 cycle, and will tell you the format if you are invited. Practise one 8-minute group discussion where your job is to bring a quiet person in, not to win.

Online. Glasgow is online for 2027 entry. Manchester lets you choose it, Edinburgh interviews on site or online, and Exeter says its interview may be online. Test your camera, sound and lighting a day early. Glasgow's page also says you must not "use any AI software, smartphone, electronic device, or written resource during your interview".

In person. Lancaster says "No applicant will be offered a place without being interviewed in person." Sheffield home, Newcastle home and Queen's Belfast home applicants travel too. Book travel the day the invitation arrives.

Find your format in three steps

1. Open your school's row and the linked page. Note the format, the mode for your fee status, and the window.
2. Open your invitation email. Where it differs from the page, the email wins. Write down the number of stations or panels and their length.
3. Match your practice to it. MMI: timed 8-minute rounds with a new partner each time. Panel: one 30-minute mock with two people who never hear the same story twice. Group task: one round with three or more people.

Once you know your format, the two-week UK medicine interview plan turns it into a day-by-day schedule.

If you hold invitations in two formats, practise the panel first. Panel answers need more distinct stories, and those stories also work in MMI stations.

Schools not in the table

We left these out rather than guess:

• Blocked to our fetcher (HTTP 403 on 7 November 2026): Oxford, UCL, Cardiff, City St George's, Dundee and Leicester. The Medical Schools Council site also returned 403, so nothing here comes from it.
• Course page loaded but states no interview format: Birmingham, Southampton, Liverpool, Keele and Hull York.
• We did not find a 2027 course page at the address we tried: Leeds, Bristol, Nottingham, Aberdeen, St Andrews, Plymouth, Warwick, Brighton and Sussex, UEA and Queen Mary.

If your school is on this list, its own admissions page and your invitation are the sources to read.

Questions about UK medicine interview formats

Which UK medical schools use MMIs for 2027 entry?

Of the 11 schools in our table, 7 name an MMI: Imperial, Manchester, Sheffield (home), Newcastle (home), Queen's Belfast, Exeter and Lancaster. Glasgow runs a panel, Edinburgh an assessment day and Cambridge College interviews.

Which schools interview online?

Glasgow interviews online for 2027 entry. Manchester lets you choose Zoom or campus, and Edinburgh and Exeter say online or in person. Sheffield and Queen's Belfast interview international applicants online.

When do medicine interview invitations come out?

From November. Cambridge sends most in November. Imperial starts rolling invitations from December, after UCAT scores arrive. Glasgow sends invitations between November and March.

What UCAT score do I need for an interview?

Only Sheffield publishes a 2027-entry minimum: 1800 out of 2700. Being above it does not mean an interview, because Sheffield then ranks by UCAT. Imperial's 2026-entry home threshold was 2320. Cambridge has no minimum.

Do I get to choose online or in person?

At Manchester, yes. Cambridge's page says "You will not usually be able to request a particular format." Glasgow is online for everyone. At Sheffield, Newcastle and Queen's Belfast, your fee status sets it.

Review the writing you send next

If this cycle ends without an offer, the next document you write is a new UCAS medicine personal statement for these schools. Get a free Quick Review of your UCAS medicine personal statement: GradPilot's UCAS medicine rubric reads your three answers within the 4,000-character limit and checks that each answer does the job its UCAS question sets.

More UK medicine interview guides:

• UK MMI station bank: station types and practice prompts.
• Medicine interview personal statement questions: which schools read your statement at interview.
• UK medicine interviews for international students: the panel and online formats above, in detail.
• UCAS 2027 deadlines and personal statement timeline: the dates around the interview season.
• Medical school essays hub: every medical application guide. Dental school formats differ; see UK dentistry interview questions for 2027 entry.

Graduate routes such as Warwick's six-station Selection Centre are covered in graduate-entry medicine interview questions.

Choosing schools from India? See Indian students applying to UK medicine for how each school ranks international applicants.

Sources

Retrieved 7 November 2026, except where noted.

• University of Cambridge, Cambridge interviews (2027 entry): dates, College formats, number of interviews, invitations.
• University of Cambridge, Medicine course page (2027 entry): UCAT use, no threshold.
• Imperial College London, Medicine MBBS: MMI, top third, invitations, 2026-entry thresholds.
• King's College London, Medicine MBBS (most recent cycle, undated): interviews and decision date.
• University of Manchester, Interviews (2026/7 cycle): MMI format, choice of mode, dates.
• University of Edinburgh, Medicine MBChB (2027 entry): assessment day, ranking.
• University of Glasgow, MBChB interviews (2027 entry) and Medicine MBChB: panel format, dates, notice, selection.
• University of Sheffield, Medicine MBChB 2027 (2027 entry): UCAT minimum, MMI and panel split.
• Newcastle University, MBBS Admissions Policy 2027 Entry (PDF): shortlisting, formats, scoring.
• Queen's University Belfast, Medicine MB (2027 entry): MMI, dates, mode. Captured by the writer on 7 November 2026; the page returned HTTP 403 to our reviewer's re-fetch the same day.
• University of Exeter, BMBS Medicine (2027 entry): MMI, mode, dates, sorting.
• Lancaster University, Medicine and Surgery MBChB 2027: MMI, in person.
• UCAS, Undergraduate interview invitations: how invitations arrive and rescheduling.